Her son immediately piped up from the side. “Don’t you feel ashamed for saying that, mommy?”


  She waved her fist in the air at him. “Must you always expose me?!”


  “Even without me exposing your lie, you’ll give yourself away sooner or later,” Youyou coolly retorted.

  Yun Shishi: “.……”


  The boy patted her shoulder sympathetically. “Just like uncle said, two negative traits make a positive trait. Maybe it’s because you and daddy are noobs at cooking that I developed such extraordinary taste buds; I should thank you both for this, in fact.”


  Mu Yazhe: “.……”


  He felt that he had been unjustly implicated in this matter.

  Right then, Yun Shishi suddenly spotted a platinum necklace on the sofa. She walked over and picked it up, asking curiously, “Whose necklace is this?”


  Her brother shook his head. “Not mine.”


  She surveyed her surroundings again but did not recall her sons having such a platinum necklace.

  “Hua Jin probably left it behind.”


  She then picked up her phone and gave the actor a call……

  It was silent in the bathroom, save for Lin Xueya’s muffled yet tremulous crying. Despite her best effort to contain her emotions, one could easily detect her despair.

  Warmth spread across Hua Jin’s exposed chest, which was above water level, as he lay under her while staring vacantly at the ceiling.

  He had no idea whether that warmth belonged to the rising bathwater or the young missy’s tears.

  Water was still running in the bathtub, where it overflowed to the ground. The sloshing sound of it was particularly loud and clear in this quiet space.

  He slowly shut his eyes.

  He was not indifferent to her crying; it was just that he only felt heartache for her.

  That was all.

  What was the most tragic thing in life?

  To him, it was none other than that he could never fall in love with any woman in this life.

  Love was nothing but the product of desire.

  He had no expectations or fantasies about love; it might have been because he had been so exhausted over the years that he lost the energy to love someone.

  Maybe, if he did not possess such traumatic memories…… or if he had met and dated her under normal conditions, he might have fallen for her without qualms or concern.

  However, he believed that he had lost his faith in love and marriage.

  The fetters between individuals arose from desires, right?

  Humans were selfish beings; thus, what they loved the most was ultimately themselves. It was why they would fall in love with someone who could satisfy their desires.

  Likewise, Lin Xueya loved him because he could fulfill all her desires.

  She was different from the other young ladies.

  Because of her superior family background, she had always lived in the lap of luxury; this was why she did not care for the riches and power that some other girls were fond of, for they were at the reach of her fingertips.

  It just happened that his appearance was sufficient to fulfill her fantasies.

  She was like a princess who was trapped in an ivory tower; due to family’s restraints, she always had to follow their rules and arrangements strictly.

  She was desperate to break free of those restraints. Meanwhile, he was nothing more than a source of comfort and escape to her—someone who could be easily replaced by others.

  After all, only a few were fortunate enough to become fated lovers like Yun Shishi and Mu Yazhe.

  He did not believe that he had a fated lover.